Freedom Films is the independent film and TV production company founded by Keith Boak, the BAFTA and IVCA award-winning Director/Producer and US Attorney.
Keith has worked extensively in the UK and the USA with the BBC, C4, ITV, Five, Discovery Channel, AMC, Sundance Channel, SyFy, WGN America, ABC, Royal National Theatre, and the Royal Court.
Freedom Films is dedicated to making inspirational, commercially competitive, socially and politically challenging content across a variety of media. Freedom has a specific commitment to confront abuse of power and all forms of injustice.
In 2018, Freedom produced the campaign film Innocence: Home for Christmas, advocating to free ‘the CA12’ – Twelve Californians wrongfully convicted. The film focused on Kiera Newsome, serving a life sentence for murder, yet wrongly imprisoned for 18 years. Kiera was granted clemency on Christmas Day 2018.
Keith Boak Producer/ Director
Keith Boak is a BAFTA and IVCA award winning Director. Keith was born in Edinburgh and graduated in Law at the University of Bristol. He has a Masters’ degree in Law (specialization in Human Rights) from UCLA and is a licensed US criminal defense attorney. He has worked at Los Angeles, Ventura and Riverside County Public Defenders’ Offices and with the California Innocence Project.
He trained as Assistant Director at the Royal Court Theatre, Riverside Studios the Royal National Theatre, and Leicester Haymarket, winning a Scotsman Fringe First Award at Edinburgh for IN NOMINE PATRIS and assisting Directors including Danny Boyle, Sir Richard Eyre, Dr Jonathan Miller, and Max Stafford Clark. He directed MILKWOOD BLUES’ (with Allan Corduner) at the Lyric Theatre, ‘WATER MUSIC’ (with Dervla Kirwan) at the Soho Theatre, THE TRAVELLER’ (with David Threlfall), and ‘INDIGO’ (with Dougray Scott) at the Almeida Theatre, London.
Keith studied Meisner technique with Scott Williams at Impulse Theatre, London, Strasberg Method with Sam Rumbelow and continues to study Acting technique at the Ivana Chubbuck Studio Los Angeles. He has taught Film/TV Directing and Directing Actors at London Film Academy and Regents University London.
FILM AND TELEVISION
Keith was original pilot Director on the widely acclaimed BBC revival of the classic science-fiction series DR WHO (BAFTA Best TV Drama series 2005). For C4, he directed in New York and London for the transatlantic series NY-LON and his first film IMPACT EARTH was broadcast on Discovery/ C5 in 2008.
His extensive TV directing credits include VILLAGE BY THE SEA (from Anita Desai’s novel set in Sri Lanka) CASE HISTORIES, SILENT WITNESS, HOTEL BABYLON, DEATH IN PARADISE, NEW TRICKS, STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL, THIEFTAKERS, CITY CENTRAL, WATERLOO ROAD, LONDON’S BURNING, THE KNOCK, OUT OF THE BLUE, PIE IN THE SKY, SUNBURN, STAYING ALIVE, WOKENWELL, MERSEYBEAT, THE BILL, HOLBY CITY, CASUALTY, EASTENDERS and the single drama SUBSTANCE. He directed the documentary “RUNNING THE BULLS and the short films THESE COLOURS DON’T RUN, NIGHTCLUB, FIST OF THE DRAGONFLY, AFTER THE PARTY, THE RETURN OF NEVILLE DEDD and THE LOSER.
In 2012 Keith directed the cybercrime film ‘COMPANIES LIKE YOURS’ for The Edge Picture Company winning the IVCA Best Director Award 2012 and 2 Gold Best Film awards at the 2012 New York International Film & TV Festival.
In 2014, Keith relocated to Los Angeles where he has directed TURN: WASHINGTON’S SPIES for AMC, OUTSIDERS for WGN America, RECTIFY for Sundance Channel KRYPTON for SyFy and most recently ‘FOR THE PEOPLE’ for ABC/Shondaland.